Forethought Quotes

“Nothing is more imminent than the impossible . . . what we must always foresee is the unforeseen.”
― Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“Above all, let us not ourselves be pinned down by ill-intentioned creatures with incongruent and disputable forethoughts, trying to submit us to devious manipulations and hinder us from breaking free from contrived mental bondage. ("Finally things had lost their weightiness")”
― Erik Pevernagie

“Look and see which way the wind blows before you commit yourself.”
― Aesop, Aesop’s Fables

“Having a sense of purpose is having a sense of self. A course to plot is a destination to hope for.”
― Bryant McGill

“Socrates famously said that the unconsidered life is not worth living. He meant that a life lived without forethought or principle is a life so vulnerable to chance, and so dependent on the choices and actions of others, that it is of little real value to the person living it. He further meant that a life well lived is one which has goals, and integrity, which is chosen and directed by the one who lives it, to the fullest extent possible to a human agent caught in the webs of society and history.”
― A.C. Grayling

“Though the house itself was a fortress, still, Isaac Penn had thought to make sure that anyone who did manage to break in would be kept busy. Thus the vault was not a vault but rather a solid plug of molybdenum steel which extended into the wall for five feet.”
― Mark Helprin, Winter's Tale

“I realized that with everything I did from that point onward, I would have to ask myself this question: "How would I feel if what I'm doing right now is written up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal or the New York Times or if it is on television? Would I still do it?" That is a very useful exercise for leaders to engage in, because we shouldn't do anything we might be embarrassed by or ashamed of.”
― John Mackey, Conscious Capitalism

“Silence is not always complacency. It is contemplation and forethought taking place in the minds of those who would be careful with their words and actions, unwilling to contribute to negativity that is fed by rashly-spoken comments. Quiet contemplation is a powerful tool for change because those thoughts, though silent, become actions built on conscientious pondering. Those actions then become examples. And quiet example is the greatest teacher, the most effective behavior modification tool of all. I am not listening to what you say half as closely as I am watching what you do. Think about that.”
― Richelle E. Goodrich, Being Bold: Quotes, Poetry, & Motivations for Every Day of the Year

“Change takes time, forethought and knowledge, as well as an envisioned goal.”
― Obiora Embry

“Avoid having to pump your brakes by keeping your flow on cruise control.”
― T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph over Death and Conscious Encounters With the Divine Presence

“El concepto de arte comprometido es una ingenuidad porque nadie sabe del todo lo que ejecuta.

(The notion of art as a compromise is a simplification, for no one knows entirely what they are doing.)”
― Jorge Luis Borges, Selected Poems

“If they had given in to passion, throwing caution to the wind,they would have lost everything.”
― Anuradha Bhattacharyya, The Road Taken

“Greeley knew no language but his, but of that, he possessed a most extraordinary mastery. An employee”
― Harold Holzer, Lincoln and the Power of the Press: The War for Public Opinion

“Most of the time you can get away with launching a terrible product, or with not washing your hands, but one time in a thousand, you will kill a person, or a company.”
― Megan McArdle, The Up Side of Down: Why Failing Well Is the Key to Success

“Diplomacy is the art of recognizing all colors and knowing how to mix them up and bring them back as they were first.”
― Salam Al Shereida

“What I’ve learned, Uncle, in a life you despise, is that everything we do has more than one consequence, and half those or more we never anticipate.”
― Elizabeth Moon, Oath of Fealty